There are cakes …and then there are cakes. Some like chocolate, some will sell their mother for a slice of cheesecake, many drools over red velvet and black forest while others will bequeath their unborn children for a huge serving of tiramisu or ice box.
Yes, the varieties are endless and everybody has his favourite, but one type of cake that most Jamaicans will agree on sticks out in their psyche as a ‘must have’ when the yuletide season rolls around, is the Christmas fruitcake.
The good old fruit cake. That rich, spongy, dark brown, fruity, baked dessert that is delicious and much sought after come December. Usually eaten at weddings but definitely consumed during Christmas, not only is it one of the stars of the holiday season, but its many ingredients, make it an expensive purchase, so everybody appreciates having that one aunt or friend who happily donates one (or two) to them, especially if they do not possess the baking gene. Indeed as a testimony to just how beloved a tradition it is, even the royal wedding of Prince William and KateMiddleton was graced with an ornate multi-tiered fruitcake.
Getting in on the whole holiday spirit, BUZZZ MAGAZINE decided to feature that fruity favourite of yours, examining those age old recipes passed down by your grandmothers as to what exactly is the perfect Christmas cake and what must be included in its ingredients according to Jamaican tradition.
The history of the fruit cake surprisingly goes back many centuries. Also called ‘black cake’ or ‘plum cake’, the earliest recipe dates back to the culinary gods of ancient Egypt who are credited with creating the first version for placement on the tombs of friends and relatives, perhaps to sustain them through their journey to the afterlife. In ancient Rome, it was baked with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into barley mash and became common as it was used to fuel the Roman army because it was a portable, long-lasting, relatively light combat ration. Requiring no preparation and averse to spoilage, the cake was transported throughout the empire with ease and became a staple in the legionnaire’s diet, especially since it was very efficient as a great source of energy for the troops. Pomegranate seeds pack 234 calories per cup, raisins provide 435 calories, but both hold nothing when compared to pine nuts which gave soldiers a whopping
916 calories. No wonder it was so popular at meal time. By the Middle Ages, spices were added though ingredients would differ depending on the country’s customs. In some instances, church regulations forbade the use of butter in observance of the fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432–1492) finally granted the use of butter in a written permission known as the ‘Butter Letter’ in 1490, giving permission for the use of milk and butter in the North German Stollen fruit cakes. By the 16th century, the influx of cheap sugar from the American colonies and the realisation that sugar could preserve fruits, created candied fruit, thus making fruit cakes more affordable and popular.
There are different versions of how the cake came to be associated with Christmas. Some believe it was because English citizens passed out fruitcake slices to poor women who sang Christmas carols on the streets of London in the late 1700s.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #5 November-December 2017
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There are cakes …and then there are cakes. Some like chocolate, some will sell their mother for a slice of cheesecake, many drools over red velvet and black forest while others will bequeath their unborn children for a huge serving of tiramisu or ice box.
Yes, the varieties are endless and everybody has his favourite, but one type of cake that most Jamaicans will agree on sticks out in their psyche as a ‘must have’ when the yuletide season rolls around, is the Christmas fruitcake.
The good old fruit cake. That rich, spongy, dark brown, fruity, baked dessert that is delicious and much sought after come December. Usually eaten at weddings but definitely consumed during Christmas, not only is it one of the stars of the holiday season, but its many ingredients, make it an expensive purchase, so everybody appreciates having that one aunt or friend who happily donates one (or two) to them, especially if they do not possess the baking gene. Indeed as a testimony to just how beloved a tradition it is, even the royal wedding of Prince William and KateMiddleton was graced with an ornate multi-tiered fruitcake.
Getting in on the whole holiday spirit, BUZZZ MAGAZINE decided to feature that fruity favourite of yours, examining those age old recipes passed down by your grandmothers as to what exactly is the perfect Christmas cake and what must be included in its ingredients according to Jamaican tradition.
The history of the fruit cake surprisingly goes back many centuries. Also called ‘black cake’ or ‘plum cake’, the earliest recipe dates back to the culinary gods of ancient Egypt who are credited with creating the first version for placement on the tombs of friends and relatives, perhaps to sustain them through their journey to the afterlife. In ancient Rome, it was baked with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins mixed into barley mash and became common as it was used to fuel the Roman army because it was a portable, long-lasting, relatively light combat ration. Requiring no preparation and averse to spoilage, the cake was transported throughout the empire with ease and became a staple in the legionnaire’s diet, especially since it was very efficient as a great source of energy for the troops. Pomegranate seeds pack 234 calories per cup, raisins provide 435 calories, but both hold nothing when compared to pine nuts which gave soldiers a whopping
916 calories. No wonder it was so popular at meal time. By the Middle Ages, spices were added though ingredients would differ depending on the country’s customs. In some instances, church regulations forbade the use of butter in observance of the fast. Pope Innocent VIII (1432–1492) finally granted the use of butter in a written permission known as the ‘Butter Letter’ in 1490, giving permission for the use of milk and butter in the North German Stollen fruit cakes. By the 16th century, the influx of cheap sugar from the American colonies and the realisation that sugar could preserve fruits, created candied fruit, thus making fruit cakes more affordable and popular.
There are different versions of how the cake came to be associated with Christmas. Some believe it was because English citizens passed out fruitcake slices to poor women who sang Christmas carols on the streets of London in the late 1700s.
To Read More: Purchase your copy of Volume 9 #5 November-December 2017
Share this post: